If I say that business is all about creating relationship, I’m not really telling you anything new. But “how” and “why” that’s true might provide some room for learning.
In the end, it all comes down to trust. As customers and clients ourselves, do we trust the person we might do business with? Do we trust their ability to perform? To deliver consistently? To provide value and support for our needs. Do we trust their values?
As business owners, are we fostering that trust in our clients? Are we operating with integrity, having our words and actions match?
I hope so. Because in the absence of those things, the foundation on which those relationships get built will be vastly different, and will likely impede how high — and successful — the tower can be.
We’re all constantly forming our points of view. We factor in all of the information we encounter and decide what the situation warrants.
But it’s all relative. Everything is in relation to something else. The question we need to ask is, “What is the story we want to be telling?” Based on who we want to be.
Relationship is all about connection, and forming a bond. But it’s also about relativity. Everything has a context. So stop being right about everything. Let go of extremes and absolutes.
And when someone declares “how it is” rather than agree or disagree with them, just consider where they are coming from. What must be going on over there for that behavior and those words to come out of them.
Whether positive or negative, don’t always react to the surface of what they send out. Respond to the human being inside and underneath. Because in reality, whatever they say or do, or don’t say or do, has very little to do with you. Even if the email has your name at the top! Happy people, feeling comfort, safety and peace, rarely take destructive action.
When voices raise, or people disappear, or their tone and attitude seem less than team-centric, it’s an indicator of *their* discomfort or lack. Not the absence of your merit or value.
But whether or not we allow that to permeate past our fences, is up to us. Do your best to find some compassion. Again, happy people don’t show up this way. So there’s likely some struggle, and even powerlessness, over there.
Though we’re best to communicate and build with those whom we can easily connect with, sometimes it’s the challenging ones who are the gate keepers on the business… and the money.
Always try to put your best foot forward. Hold to your ideals and a commitment to be your highest self. And look for common ground even if it’s seemingly tangential.
Whatever has you on the same page can only foster that trust, connection, and a common path forward.
And that is the foundation we’re all looking to build with our prospects, clients and customers.
Here’s to building and leveraging relationships in service of others, to growth — of both self and profit — and to presence, self awareness, and opportunity.
Have a great meeting. And, as always, a powerful day!
